Goldman Sachs has reached into the ranks of the Obama White House alumni for some political protection. Former White House counsel Greg Craig has been hired to advise the Wall Street giant after it was charged by the government last Friday with fraud and misleading its own investors.

Officials at the White House say Craig did not alert them about his decision to take on Goldman Sachs as a client at the law firm Skadden Arps, where Craig now works.

Federal ethics rules prohibit lobbying, but Craig may have avoided complications. An administration official explains, "a former White House employee cannot appear before any unit of the Executive Office of the President on behalf of any client for 2 years -- one year under federal law and another year under the pledge pursuant to the January 2009 ethics executive order signed by President Obama. But the Securities and Exchange Commission, which filed the civil lawsuit against Goldman Sachs, is an independent agency and West Wing advisors believe Craigs work would not run afoul of the rules IF Craig does not contact the White House.

Craig left the Obama administration in late 2009 after a rocky year mired in national security issues.

A D.C. Insider Joins the Team
Goldman Hires Former White House Counsel; Charged Employee Deregistered

By EVAN PEREZ

Goldman Sachs Group Inc. retained one of Washington’s most prominent Democratic lawyers as it gears up to defend itself from civil charges of defrauding investors. At the same time, the company deregistered the employee charged in the case.

Greg Craig was White House counsel under President Barack Obama until January, serving as the president’s top lawyer and a key player in the administration’s efforts to close the Guantanamo Bay prison for terror detainees.
[CRAIG] Getty Images

Greg Craig, shown in Washington while serving as White House counsel 2009, will assist in regulatory and legal affairs, said Goldman.

Mr. Craig is now in private practice at Skadden, Arps, Slate, Meagher & Flom’s Washington office. Goldman said it brought in Mr. Craig to assist in regulatory and legal affairs and declined to say what specific work he would do. Mr. Craig didn’t respond to a request for comment.

Goldman may have retained Mr. Craig for more than the immediate case, which would pit him against his former employer. Goldman’s problems in the capital go beyond the charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission. Many lawmakers have attacked the company and other Wall Street banks for their roles in the alleged excesses that led to the financial crisis.

Mr. Craig, a former aide to late Sen. Edward Kennedy, was a prominent corporate attorney at Williams & Connolly, a Washington law firm, before joining the Obama campaign. President Bill Clinton tapped him in 1998 to lead his defense during congressional impeachment proceedings. His work for Goldman was first reported by Politico.

Under an ethics executive order issued by Mr. Obama and federal law, Mr. Craig is barred from lobbying before any part of the executive branch for two years. That doesn’t cover Congress. Under the terms of the ethics order, Mr. Craig could lobby lower-level SEC career officials but couldn’t contact senior people at the SEC, such as the five commissioners, who are political appointees. ........

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